Musselman can enjoy Glover's golf success only from afar

Wednesday

Ron Musselman watched every shot of the final round of the U.S. Open. He sat in front of the TV that Monday, maybe a shade nervous as he pulled for Lucas Glover, his biological son, to win.

Ron Musselman watched every shot of the final round of the U.S. Open. He sat in front of the TV that Monday, maybe a shade nervous as he pulled for Lucas Glover to win.“I’ve always felt that when he was in contention he was going to pull it off and win the tournament,” Musselman said. “He has the right temperament, ability and focus.”He would know.He admires Glover for ranking near the top of the PGA Tour’s bounce back stat, which registers how many times a player follows a bogey or worse with a birdie or better.Musselman is Glover’s biological father. And 20 years ago he made mistakes that squandered those rights, and today he takes full responsibility. Yet this is not the story of a man emerging from the shadows looking to share the spotlight now that his son has achieved major glory. He didn’t seek out this interview and is not seeking accolades or airplane tickets.“I just want him to know he has friends and family who love and support him in Southeastern NC, California, New York, Texas, anywhere I’ve been and played ball,” Mussleman said last week.Playing baseball took Musselman to Clemson from 1975-77. That’s where his roommate, Hal Bagwell, introduced him to Hershey Hendley. They married in January of 1978 and Lucas was born in November 1979.By then, Musselman was on the road, pursuing his dream of pro ball, a hardnosed reliever who played hard on the field and in the barroom, on a trek that lasted a decade with stops in Alexandria and Spokane and Salt Lake City and three brief stints in the major leagues.He and Lucas’ mother separated in 1981, divorced a year later.When his baseball career ended in 1987, Musselman returned home to Wilmington, started a landscaping business. Money was tight.He fell behind on child support payments. He went more than six months without seeing his son. And the combination meant he lost his legal rights as a parent.There was a court case in South Carolina in 1992 and Hershey Hendley, remarried to Jim Glover, won full custody. Musselman was forbidden from having contact with Lucas until he turned 18. When asked about the past, Lucas and his mother recognize only Jim Glover as Lucas’ father.It was Hershey’s father, Dick Hendley, who introduced Glover to golf at age three and later identified his natural ability for swinging a club and provided every opportunity for success.“His granddad and his mom and Mr. Glover stepped in at that age when I was not there. They surrounded him and supported him and nurtured him and provided for him,” Musselman said.“I was absentee. I can’t go back there.”After Lucas turned 18, Musselman drove to Hilton Head, S.C., where Clemson was competing in a golf tournament. They spoke briefly. There was another interrupted meeting at River Landing in Wallace a few years later. There’s been no contact since. Musselman compares the rejection to what a freshman boy feels when he asks the most popular senior out on a date.So Musselman follows his son the same way as Glover’s other fans, on the television and internet. The resemblance is unmistakable, the way they purse their lips just so, the way Glover tosses the ball on the green or the tee. He’s impressed by Glover’s syrupy swing and long, accurate drives and, to a greater degree, his character. “I see in Lucas politeness, and kindness and all the qualities you would ever want to see in a son. And the Hendleys and the Glovers deserve the credit for it,” he said. “The time has passed to take Lucas to the driving range and to the water slide and the movie theatre, but to me the bond between father and son can’t be broken.”The pain is clear in his voice and the lines of his face.He’s hopeful for a chance to bounce back.

Story idea? Want to talk golf with Brian? Contact him at 343-2034 or brian.mull@starnewsonline.com

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